Driving Mr. bin Laden

On Sunday the Guardian reported that Barack Obama’s Hollywood buddy George Clooney is planning a film that will provide a sympathetic portrayal of Salim Hamdan and Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift, Hamdan’s military lawyer. Hamdan was of course Osama bin Laden’s driver. It’s a relief that Hollywood has finally found an American officer connected to the war whom it can lionize.

As Andrew Malcolm observes, Clooney is one of Obama’s most prominent Hollywood supporters. Ed Morrissey notes the CNN report that on the second day of the Republican Convention, Obama is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Geneva, Switzerland to be hosted by George Clooney. Clooney will host a $1,000 a plate reception for Obama followed by a $10,000 a plate reception to be hosted by Charles Adams.

Should the McCain campaign take a leaf from the Mark Penn playbook that ABC News has already attributed to it? Ed suggests:

Maybe during the convention, the Republicans can dedicate a large-screen monitor at the Xcel Center to keep track of Obama’s second European jaunt of the campaign. They could call it, “Where In The World Is Barack Obama?” The show could track him through the summer houses of the rich and famous Americans who can afford to own villas overseas, and put dollar signs up on a map wherever he stops off for some foie gras.

Ed can be forgiven for playing with fire here. He made this suggestion last week and therefore did not have the benefit of the advice from ABC News that such hardball politics are akin to racism.